QUT student and radiographer Kelly Wilson-Stewart has won the international 2020 Visualise Your Thesis competition.
The Science and Engineering Faculty HDR student, who was the winner of QUT’s 2020 Visualise Your Thesis and the runner up in the 2020 QUT Graduate Research Showcase Three Minute Thesis, said the aim of her research was to protect those who protect us.
“My research looked at the level of radiation our nurses are exposed to compared with doctors in the same surgery,” Ms Wilson-Stewart said.
She said coronary angiograms used x-rays to see the arteries in a patient’s heart. Staff who are exposed to radiation during these procedures have an increased risk of developing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and DNA damage.
“They’re also three times more likely to develop eye cataracts and the nurses receive almost twice as much radiation exposure as doctors because doctors have lead screens in front of them,” she said.
She hoped her research would inform nurses and doctors of the levels of radiation staff are exposed to, so that they can better protect themselves.
The Visualise Your Thesis competition provides an opportunity for universities to showcase their graduate research and for the competitors to build essential digital communication skills to effectively communicate complex research to a general audience.
Entrants use a pre-supplied template, to develop a striking, audio-visual presentation that presents their research project via a short and engaging digital narrative.
Ms Wilson-Stewart won $5000 in the international Visualise Your Thesis final for her presentation which the judges said showed great communication and salesmanship for an important research project.
She was supervised by Associate Professor Jamie Trapp and Dr Davide Fontanarosa in presenting her research.
“I wasn’t expecting to win the competition because there were so many great topics being presented,” said Ms Wilson-Stewart, who works as a radiographer at Greenslopes Private Hospital.
“I’m very close to the people I work with and really wanted to help protect them, and ensure they are aware of the invisible risk they face during procedures."
“It’s great to have this title but the best thing about the competition is the international exposure for my research, which has now reached some of the over 100,000 nurses working within these environments worldwide. It has created a great deal of interest and I’m thrilled that this has provided the opportunity to increase awareness on a global scale.”
Media contact:
Madeline Healy QUT Media, 3138 3083 or m5.healy@qut.edu.au
After hours, Rose Trapnell, QUT Media team leader, 0407 585 901, media@qut.edu.au
CRICOS No.: 00213J
